First impressions are lasting, as the saying goes, and your first interface with a new client or prospect can determine the quality of the relationship to follow.

If the prospective client has called out of the blue rather than approaching you through a referral, a few key questions during the initial telephone call can determine whether the first meeting should take place at all. “I ask how they got my name and the firm’s name,” says Lynne Triffon, vice president of T.E. Financial Consultants Ltd. in Vancouver. “I try to get a sense ahead of time of whether there is potentially a good fit.”

Having cleared that hurdle, the objective of the first consultation is to find out the prospect’s or client’s financial goals and give the client information about the advisor, says Clay Gillespie, an advisor with Rogers Group Financial Advisors Ltd. in Vancouver. “For me, the purpose of the first meeting is to find out the client’s ‘big picture’ objectives,” he says. “It is for the client to find out whether I’d be the guy to answer those questions.”

Gillespie follows a carefully designed process to welcome new clients. When his assistant books the appointments, she sends out information packages that include a company newsletter, a brochure about Gillespie’s services and information about the firm. In the covering letter, Gillespie asks the new clients to prepare for their meetings by considering their top financial objectives.

When the clients come in, he begins the initial meetings by asking three questions:

> Do you have any questions about the material I sent you?

> What has to happen in this meeting for you to feel it was useful?

> What are your three top financial objectives?

These questions form the basis of the ensuing discussion.

Joanne Ferguson, a partner with Advisor Pathways Inc. in Stratford, Ont., also likes the soft approach. The initial meeting is more an information-gathering exercise than a technical one, she says. The tone should remain conversational, with the advisor asking open-ended questions and listening rather than talking.

“One way to get the conversation going is to ask about their positive and negative experiences with investing,” Ferguson says. “If these prospects worked with an advisor before, ask what they liked and didn’t like about the experience. Were their expectations met?”

Gillespie, too, is not looking for hard data in a first meeting; he is after a solid, overall impression of the person’s long-term goals.

To get important information, such as marriages, children, pensions and other details, Gillespie gives the clients a 15-page questionnaire to complete at home. He has found that when he asks for this information in a meeting, the clients often become self-conscious and evasive, and sometimes challenge the relevance of some of the questions. “If I ask the questions in the meeting and they don’t know me, they look at me and try to gauge my response,” Gillespie says. “But when they’re filling out a questionnaire at home, they just fill it out and I get great data.”

The next step in Gillespie’s process is for each client to return their completed questionnaire, with the understanding that this would be a go-ahead for Gillespie’s office to prepare a financial plan for a fee of between $250 and $500. The office then books a follow-up meeting within 10 working days.

It sounds fairly straightforward, but a surprising number of advisors make missteps that jeopardize the relationship. One common mistake, according to Gillespie, is trying to get all the factual information in the first meeting. “That’s a mistake because you’re putting people in a defensive position,” he says. “You should be trying to make them feel comfortable.”

Another common mistake is either letting the meeting go on too long or not being clear about how much time the first meeting will take. Gillespie finds 45 to 60 minutes the ideal duration for the first meeting — long enough to break the ice and exchange ideas, but not an unreasonable time commitment for a prospect who is not yet sure that he or she wants to become a client.

Some advisors insist on meetings that last up to 90 minutes, says Ferguson. But whatever the planned duration, be sure the client knows how much time to set aside, she says.

@page_break@Ferguson also suggests advisors suppress any urge to offer a quick financial solution in that initial meeting — even if they have a good idea.

“The first meeting is about seeing whether there is a fit between the prospect and the advisor. It is not the time for jumping in and saying, ‘This is what I’m going to do with your money’,” she says.

It is always a good idea to have an agenda for any meeting, but do not let the agenda run the meeting, Ferguson advises: “Write out a list of questions you want to ask, but try not to anticipate everything that is going to happen, because then you are focusing on the agenda rather than on the client.”

If advisors plan to introduce prospects to other members of their team, Ferguson recommends advisors make sure staff members know when a new client is coming into the office to ensure relevant staff will be in the office at the time the meeting will end.

“Teams that are run efficiently go over the list of clients who are coming in that week at their team meetings,” Ferguson says..

It may seem too obvious to mention, but the office, boardroom and work areas should be tidy.

“If the client is going to be introduced, the work area needs to look somewhat organized. It really comes across as unprofessional and disorganized if the office is a mess,” Ferguson says.

“The client may think, ‘They can’t even keep their space organized and they’re going to manage my money?’” she adds.

And, in the end, if you find you can’t help some prospects, offer some direction, Triffon says: “Try to recommend two or three advisors who may be able to help rather than leaving them high and dry.” IE